Photo credit: Emily Madinsky. Retrieved from afar.com
The Faroe Islands famously has more sheep than people. But in 2023, approximately 130,000 foreign tourists visited the remote Nordic archipelago of 18 volcanic islands located halfway between Iceland and Scotland, outnumbering the roughly 54,000 full-time Faroese. So it’s no surprise that the self-governing region of the Kingdom of Denmark is more concerned about the growing population of tourists than sheep.
Like Venice and Amsterdam before it, the Faroe Islands will begin charging tourist taxes in October 2025 that will be used to finance a Nature Preservation Fund for the maintenance of hiking paths as well as other local tourism initiatives and nature protection schemes.
But unlike other destinations, the Faroese government has taken another, more unorthodox approach to preventing overtourism by immersing visitors in the maintenance of the islands’ fragile natural environment and creation of a more sustainable infrastructure. Each spring, the Closed for Maintenance, Open for Voluntourism program shuts down some of the country’s most popular sites for a few days. In exchange for free room and board, several dozen international volunteers are invited to participate in various infrastructure projects across the islands, including constructing pathways to preserve the islands’ natural beauty as well as installing wayfinding signs on trails and roads to keep both visitors and locals safe.